ROTATEQ® (Rotavirus Vaccine, Live, Oral, Pentavalent), Merck's vaccine for rotavirus gastroenteritis in infants and children, received the Prix Galien USA 2010 Award for Best Biotechnology Product.

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has made the decision not to pursue further worldwide development of Simplirix™ (Herpes Simplex Vaccine), an experimental vaccine intended to prevent genital herpes disease in women.

AstraZeneca announced the enrollment of the first patient in the phase III clinical development programme for fostamatinib, a novel oral syk inhibitor. The phase III programme, called OSKIRA (Oral Syk Inhibition in Rheumatoid Arthritis), is designed to investigate fostamatinib as a treatment for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in patients with an inadequate response to disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs), including methotrexate (MTX).

Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccines division of the sanofi-aventis Group (EURONEXT: SAN and NYSE: SNY) has signed a binding agreement for the acquisition of VaxDesign, a privately held U.S. biotechnology company, based in Orlando, Florida, that develops, manufactures and markets in vitro models of the human immune system.

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) provided an update to its development pipeline, which includes 118 programs from Phase 1 through registration. The updated pipeline continues to reflect Pfizer's ongoing investment in high-priority disease areas with considerable unmet medical need.

Novartis has signed an agreement to sell to Warner Chilcott plc the US rights to market Enablex®* (darifenacin) extended release tablets, a medicine to treat adults with symptoms of overactive bladder. The agreement will be filed with the US Federal Trade Commission under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act and, subject to certain closing conditions set forth in the agreement, the transaction is expected to close by the end of October 2010.

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) confirms that following a review of Avandia® (rosiglitazone maleate) by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), each agency has announced their individual regulatory decisions and the resulting actions.